Portland First Thursday, Snowboard Style

Portland residents know that on First Thursday, downtown is where the art is. The wine flows like beer, the fancy duds come out. Not usually a scene for a bunch of snowboarders. November's First Thursday (the 4th) at The Lizard Lounge (1323 NW Irving Street) is fixing to crack that mold. The gallery, dubbed "HOOD is where the heART is" will combine a photo gallery and video premiere focused on that snow-covered pyramid Oregon knows well. Raffles of Shwood, Coal and RVCA gear, along with Timberline lift tickets and Lizard Lounge gift certificates will benefit the one and only SnowDays Foundation. Need another reason to show up? Widmer will provide the free suds (to those of age) and the party will be poppin' from 7 to 10pm. More info here. Cool interview about it here. Finally, snowboarding recognized as art, not just sport.

Northwest snowboarding art in pictures still and motion

Exit Real World: Portland Birthday Bash

When you're Exit Real World, you throw three birthday parties. The first show was the little one. Out in the suburbs, lots of drunken teens. Salem went second and hosted 9191, complete with Jake Price, Austin Smith and Curtis Cizek. Now for the grand finale. Friday, October 22 Portland's Mission Theatre (1624 NW Glisan) will host Exit and show Think Thank's Right Brain, Left Brain. Just 5 bucks at the door gets you the movie, a sneak peek at Exit's new skate team video and undoubtedly a chance to do ridiculous things to win prizes. In Salem they even had a pie-eating contest.

Close dude won. Far dude said the pie tasted like crap.

Oh yeah, don't forget, biggest sale of the season at Exit's Portland location on NW 23rd the Saturday and Sunday following the show. Somewhere between 15 and 75% off any and everything. How about a picture of the flier? OK!

Forum Double Fucks Portland

No one does Willamette waterfront warehouse snowboard video parties quite like Forum Snowboards. Don't believe me? Check out the On Air warehouse at 1300 N River St. on Saturday, October 16. Forum's new team movie Fuck It will be playing not once, but twice this weekend. The all-ages showing is at 7pm and PBR will be flowing at the 9pm show ($2 each or 2 for $3, no freebies here). Also at 9, riders Peter Line, Stevie Bell, Jake Welch, Austin Sweetin and Cameron Pierce will be tossin’ out product to the jams of DJ ISM. Aforementioned riders will appear for an autograph signing on Friday the 15th at US Outdoor Store. Check their blog for more details. And if you want to check out a teaser that will remind you of Top Gun, head over to Forum.

Going Deeper: Two Years Worth the Wait

Two years of hiking. Two years of scoping. Two years of mountaintop bivvy-ing. Two years without helicopters; the occasional plane or boat, but mostly just ice axe, crampon, rope and boot. Now, Jeremy Jones (yeah, the big mountain one) and Teton Gravity Research bring Deeper to the screen and it was worth every one of the 730 days.

I never did see that backstage college

Deeper is as apt a name as this movie could have. The crew goes deeper into the Sierras, deeper into Alaska, deeper into Chamonix and, hell, just sacking up to Antarctica is pretty deep. A deep cast of characters changed on every mission, Jones being the only constant. Tom Burt, Xavier De Le Rue, Josh Dirksen, Forrest Shearer (who made the trip for the Portland screening), Travis Rice, Lucas Debari, Ryland Bell, Jonaven Moore and Johnan Olofsson put boot to snow for different sections of the show.

A little taste of the opening from the front row

The film's format is more documentary and less shred porn, which suits the subject matter perfectly. Aside from one Travis Rice-constructed booter and De Le Rue's name which translates to 'of the street' the crew eschews anything packed down or metal for steeps that require rock-solid mettle. Each trip is given plenty of exposition before the heavy lines get ripped. And don't forget, every line they ride, they must first climb. Jeremy starts the action with his first ever trip to Alaska before he brings it all to the present. The evolution is clear. As a viewer, my reaction went from, "Holy shit!" to "Where the hell is he even going!?" on some of the steepest, most exposed lines I've ever seen. A heavy dose of helmet cam gets the point across. Professional riders, closed course, etc.

Now it's time for me to nitpick. One of the cameras was grainy to the point of distraction. Toward the end of the movie, I pointed it out to a friend, who concurred. My guess is that they used a few different media (helmet cam, 16mm, HD video) and they just didn't match well. That would be the only thing I would change. The shot selection was on point. The riding was next level. The lifestyle shots, information and soundtrack brought everything together. Bottom line, when's it out on DVD?

Overall, this picture is the one that will propel Jeremy Jones from Big Mountain Rider of the Year to Rider of the Year. After seeing everything that goes into his exploits, people better recognize. Also after years of dominating the former category he finally has company in the latter, Xavier De Le Rue, who took down the award last year. Ryland Bell isn't far behind either. When you look a little deeper, you'll find Josh Dirksen and the rest, alternating beautiful turns and deep trenches on the steepest of pitches. Boot-accessed big-mountain riding. Who knew?

Upcoming Portland Video Screenings

Just two of them this week, but they are worth noting. Tonight at the Clinton Street Theater People Creative's Nice Try is showing at 7pm and 9pm. The early show is all ages, but the late one is 21+ and for good reason. Get this, PBR is sponsoring, so your paid admission ($6) gets you a free beer. I'm sitting on a full write-up of Nice Try, but I'm getting it a little confused with another of this year's movies, Transworld's Get Real. My brain just can't handle the subtle similarities. Expect reviews for both of those as early as tomorrow if I can get them straight by then.

Tomorrow night at the Hollywood Theater is another of Exit Real World's birthday parties. Expect chaos and depravity as The Skeleton Crew takes the screen with Group Effect. If the teaser(s) are any indication, this one's going to be chipmunk shit nutty. Get to any Exit Real World location and buy advance tickets for $5 to guarantee a seat. Hollywood Theater, Sandy Blvd., 8pm. Be there or circle takes the square.